Granted
by Rubeus
Summary: Rated for a bit of violence. When a person wakes up in the morning, they usually take it all for granted. What if it was your last day? If you knew it, would you live your day differently, and appreciate every waking moment?
1. Chance

When a person wakes up in the morning, they usually take such a thing for granted. They whine, they moan, they complain, and after awhile, they eventually, sluggishly roll out of bed and drag their sorry selves to work.  
  
Dee Laytner was one of these people who happened to take every morning for granted. He didn't have to go into work until noon today, but there were several errands that needed done, that he didn't particularly want to do. But, they did indeed, need done, and no one else was around to do them. Ryo said something about going in early to finish paper work, Carol and Bikky were at school. So, it was all up to him.  
  
He laid in bed for awhile, somewhere between the brink of sleep and wake. His eyes were still closed, but his body and brain, much to his disappointment, were urging him to wake.  
  
"Come on big boy, it's all up to you now." He muttered to himself, as if it were an inspirational speech to get him moving. It failed to work, but it was worth a try.  
  
When he had finally gotten the will to open his heavy eyes, he slowly crawled out of bed into some clothing, which was either clean or dirty, he couldn't tell, and frankly, he didn't care. He tucked his blue shirt in, tried to zip up his pants and button them, (although this seemed to be rather difficult, considering his hands were so tired the seemed to be nothing but rectangular blocks of wood on his hands that kind of were supposed to be fingers) and then tried to button his shirt, but had realized that he had tucked it in quite sloppily before he could even button it.  
  
It had taken him nearly an hour to fully wake (or, get dressed, as the case may be), and get a somewhat decent meal into his stomach. He sat at the table, munching at some Cream of Oranges Instant Breakfast that Ryo had bought. The clock on the wall sat across from him, ticking away as if to remind him that he had not more than a couple of hours to do his errands and get to work. He glared at the clock. It seemed to glare back, but as it turned out, that was only the second hand at such and angle to make the clock look as if it were frowning at him. He sighed, and finished up his meal, carelessly tossing the pastel blue plastic bowl into the kitchen sink.  
  
He walked past the fridge, and checked to see if Ryo had left a shopping list. Shopping was one of the things Ryo had asked him to do, but he couldn't do it very well if he didn't know what Ryo wanted. There was indeed one, sticking to the fridge with the aid of some clever magnets that were made to look like tacks. On a flowery piece of stationary, was scribbled some demands in Ryo's delicate handwriting. It read:  
  
"MILK, BREAD, EGGS, CREAMER, GROUND TURKEY.  
  
TAKE TRASH OUT.  
  
SEE YOU AT WORK. ~RYO"  
  
Dee sighed, and shoved it into his pocket. The trash could wait; he didn't have time right now. He grabbed his jacket, and tossed it over his shoulder.  
  
When he had left the apartment building, he was stunned with a somewhat extreme amount of sunlight and sickening cheeriness. Children were playing, Dogs were barking, bees were buzzing. A big red rubber ball bounced in front of him, but he took no heed, and watched an irregularly short blonde person run after it, squealing with delight.  
  
He walked down to his car, which was parked on the side of the road where it normally took its spot every night. He smiled, wondering why he and Ryo didn't just move in together. They had been spending the past several weeks at Ryo's humble flat together, and Dee hadn't seen his house more than once a week, and that was usually to grab some more clothing for Ryo to worry about washing.  
  
He unlocked his car, and flopped lazily into the driver's seat. He had a little more energy than he had beforehand, but it still didn't seem nearly enough. Lazily, he stuck the jagged key into the ignition, and waited for the quiet purr of his car's motor.  
  
As he pulled out of the parking lot, he realized that he couldn't go shopping without money. He had spent all of the money from his last check, and had none left to spare. He cursed silently to himself, and pulled over, checking his wallet for his payment from yesterday. It was there, and that meant he had to go to the bank. He hated the bank. Once again, he cursed silently to himself. This would delay him a little, and most likely meant he wouldn't be able to run those extra errands for his benefit.  
  
He sighed in exasperation. That meant he couldn't buy that movie he had on hold for the past week, the one that was almost impossible to come by, the one that sold out every time it hit the shelves.  
  
The movie was Gunbladers #3, One of the most popular kid's cinemas. Ryo laughed that he loved it, but.. He did!! There was no denying it, and Ryo would just have to live with his silly obsession.  
  
He sighed in exasperation, and felt he were on the verge of tears.  
  
//No. it'd be silly to cry over a.. a friggin' kid's movie!!// Dee thought spitefully to himself. But still.  
  
He pulled into the parking lot, and found a space next to an incredibly, if not ridiculously large black Chevy Suburban. The parking spaces themselves were huge, and he hit the thing with his door as he got out. He glared at it spitefully, and made his way into the building. Fortunately, there wasn't a line. He smiled gleefully. So maybe he plans would work out afterall!!  
  
He skipped over to a bombshell blonde teller, who was typing something into her computer. She looked up happily, and smiled at him.  
  
"Welcome to New York State bank, Sir. How may I help you?" She said quietly, with a voice that was a little too seductive for a woman in a tie. Maybe she was trying to come on to him.  
  
He smiled, and shook his head. No one could resist Dee Laytner's charm, No one!  
  
"Hey there. I need to cash this." he said casually. He put the check onto the counter. She picked it up, and asked for his identification. He handed his Driver's License and state I.D. without looking at her, to appear as if he were ignoring her relentless flirts, when in reality, he was letting them all soak into his already swollen ego.  
  
She put something else into the computer, and then counted out his money, setting it out on the counter for him. He fetched it up, flashed her a quick smile of gratitude, and began on his way.  
  
As he was leaving, something caught his attention. There was a lanky man, leaning over the counter, and talking quietly to a teller. The teller did not seem to be enjoying the man's company, and had had placed both of his hands on the counter, which was most likely something lanky man had demanded him to do. The first thing Dee thought was robbery, but there wasn't quite enough. commotion. And the man wasn't even masked or anything. He couldn't jump to conclusions.  
  
He paced off casually to the side, to assess the situation from a more remote spot, which happened to be behind a plaster pillar, which was adorned with painted pink flowers. When he saw the man reach into his jacket and pull out a gun, he knew that his assumption had indeed been right.  
  
He walked over quietly, pulled out his wallet, and tapped the man on the shoulder.  
  
"Is there a problem over here?" He asked quietly, and showed the teller and the man his badge. The teller seemed relieved, until the lanky man spun around, stared at Dee for a moment, and then turned back to the teller and shoved the gun into his mouth.  
  
"You bastard!!" He screamed. "I said we could go about this quietly, but no! You had to fucking signal the police!! I'll shoot your fucking brains out!!"  
  
The bank froze around him. Some people tried slipping out quietly, to not draw the man's attention. He glared at the teller, spun around, and brandished his gun wildly.  
  
"Don't any of you think about even leaving!! It looks like this is gonna be an old fashioned Lock down!! I didn't want it to be this way, but it looks as if we have no choice!" He laughed wildly, and spun around again, pointing his gun at Dee.  
  
"You, well it looks like I'll have to take care of you first, seeing as you could bust me for this." He laughed. Dee was frozen with shock. This indeed, was not his division. He was more of a detective than a cop, and hadn't really been trained for this sort of situation. He shouldn't have interfered as soon as he did, but it was too late now. There was only one thing he could think of doing.  
  
When he saw the man hesitate to pull the trigger, he took the chance and ducked quickly out of the life of fire. He rolled under his legs, tripped him, and pulled his own gun on him.  
  
He hovered above the man, his gun pointed to his head. The other man lay prostrate beneath him, his small revolver pointed at his chest. Time seemed to have stopped.  
  
Dee realized that he wasn't breathing, and neither was the other man. They were both too worried with who was going to shoot first.  
  
The man glanced about wildly, and cursed to himself. This obviously, had not been in his plans. This hadn't been in Dee's plan's either, but it was sort of inevitable. It's not like anyone could pre-determine his or her day down to the last detail.  
  
"Please, I am going to ask you once kindly, to drop your weapon sir."  
  
"Like fuck I'm going to drop it!" He screamed, and spat at Dee.  
  
Red and Blue lights flashed outside, and the loud wailing of police sirens could be heard. The man looked around in a panic, not sure what to do at this point.  
  
They heard voices over a megaphone, but the man ignored it. It didn't mean anything to him now anyway; he was royally fucked no matter what he did. He could shoot his asshole and blow the brains out of everyone else in here, but that would make him a murderer. And now that the cops were outside, he couldn't very well get up and run. He's be shot down before he made it across the street. No point in listening.  
  
Dee saw his finger shaking and time seemed to slow down. He saw the man pull the trigger. and it seemed to take an eternity for the bullet to leave the gun. Dee reacted and shot as well, hoping by chance it would somehow help him avoid the bullet headed straight for him.  
  
Of course, this did nothing. He fell back when it hit, and felt as if he had just been knocked in the chest by a mace. He couldn't breath, and tasted blood on his tongue. He clutched at his chest, and stared at the ceiling with wide, frightened eyes. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't speak, he couldn't think. He only heard screaming. he thought maybe it was him, but it didn't seem like himself. It sounded like someone else screaming, but did it matter who was screaming?  
  
It seemed an eternity for someone come over and try to save him. He stared up through them, as they ripped open his shirt, and pressed down on his chest in attempt to stop the bleeding. Their face seemed worried, but to him. they didn't seem to exist. They were nothing but a vision to him. The world had seemed to fall from his grasp, or rather, he seemed to be falling from reality, and fast.  
  
People often ask, or rather, wonder what someone's last thoughts are before death. Do you think about your family, that bill that needed paid, or your kids? Dee didn't seem to be thinking of anything. his mind was a blank. He could only think about the pain, could only think about breathing. He wasn't thinking about the errands he should have run, the people who would miss him, the loose ends he never tied up to him. All of it seemed so trivial now. And for a brief moment, he wondered why. why were people born, if they were meant to live such a drab, pointless life? Why, when they would be soon forgotten in a couple decades or so? Their accomplishments, their mistakes, and everything else would soon vanish from memory. His vision went blurry, and everything started to fade. He didn't feel his eyes close but everything had gone completely dark. He realized that he didn't seem to have a need to breathe. The pain had gone numb, and he could barely make out what was in his line of vision. Everything, when so chaotic, had suddenly come to a complete stop, and come to utter nothingness.  
  
And before he went out, he had a brief thought, one regret, one last image. The thought was of Ryo, the regret was that he had never told him his true feelings were more than mere physical infatuation, and the image was his smile, that sweet smile, his benevolent expression. Gods, he'd miss him.  
  
Randy "Ryo" McLean was sitting at his desk, hunched over a stack of paperwork. Half of it was incident reports, mainly thanks to the carelessness of his partner, Dee Laytner. They weren't serious incidents, thank god, but there were traffic violations, temporary theft of vehicles... and a colorful array of other reports. He sighed in exasperation, and leaned back into the chair. He was already exhausted, and the day had barely begun!  
  
The door to his office creaked open, and he saw one of his co-workers peek in. They seemed distraught and worried.  
  
"Ryo, I think we need to talk for a minute."  
  
"What? What's the problem?"  
  
He sighed, and opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. He wasn't sure how to say it.  
  
"Your partner, Dee. he's."  
  
Ryo felt his heart stop.  
  
"What? What happened to Dee??" He asked almost desperately.  
  
"He was hospitalized just about a half an hour ago. He's in surgery right now."  
  
"What happened??!" he shouted, and jumped up from his chair.  
  
The man looked sorrowful.  
  
"He was at the bank and got caught in the middle of a robbery. he was shot in the chest."  
  
Ryo didn't need to hear anymore. He bounded from his office, out to his car. First thing, he needed to get Carol and Bikky. Or he could wait. Gods, he didn't know what to do. He should go see Dee first. Yes, that would be best. He shouldn't worry Carol and Bikky until there was something to worry about. This was of course, something to worry about, but he had to be there for Dee. He'd contact Carol and Bikky later.  
  
He had rushed to the hospital, and found to his dismay that he could not see Dee at the current moment. He had been in surgery for several hours, and many more hours were laid ahead to endure.  
  
He didn't dread anything more than to wait in this stark white room for hours on end, only for the doctor to come out say that Dee wasn't okay. that Dee was.  
  
No. he couldn't think that way. He just couldn't. Dee wouldn't die; he was too stubborn to die! It wouldn't be like him at all to die like this. He nodded to himself, sure that he was going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay. Dee was going to survive more than one lousy shot from a psychopath.  
  
Comforted a little, Ryo got a sudden sense of regret. He shifted uncomfortably in the pleather seats (which proved to be quite uncomfortable), and realized that he. he did love Dee. As much as he hated to admit it, he loved the hot head. A lot. And he knew Dee loved him. he had said so himself. But he had never really seemed serious about it. Ryo was convinced he just wanted to get laid, or something. But now when he thought back, everything had pointed to it. He was jealous when Rose became commissioner, and Ryo couldn't help but stare admiringly at him every time he passed, with a slight blush to his cheeks. He had been so protective of Ryo, and had told him many times over that he loved him. He didn't know why he never took him seriously.  
  
And then something else tugged at his thoughts. What if he couldn't tell Dee that he loved him? He couldn't live with that regret. he just couldn't. There was no way. But then there were Bikky and Carol to worry about. They had basically become his children. Not legally, but he acted as a father to them. Dee had always been more like the cruel older brother, who really does love them, and just can't admit it. Ryo smiled sardonically, and sunk lower into his chair. Dee had been so great to him, that if anything ever happened to him. he wouldn't know what to do.  
  
He looked up, and saw J.J. running in, screaming like a maniac. He rolled his eyes, but he knew how J.J. felt. Couldn't he be less. vocal about it, at least?  
  
Several doctors had to hold him back to keep him from running right into the middle of the surgery and shaking Dee like a rag doll, demanding to know if he was okay. They pushed him into a chair next to Ryo, and said rather sternly that they'd have to have security escort him from the premises if he continued to act in such a disorderly manner. J.J. pouted, and rested his chin in the palm of his hand.  
  
Ryo looked to J.J., and had sympathy for the boy. Dee may not like him much, but Ryo personally didn't have anything against him. He was hard to deal with at times, and probably even stupid and annoying more than half the time, but if he did love Dee the way Ryo did, then well, he did feel sorry for him.  
  
He pat him on the back sympathetically. J.J. looked up him, tears brimming in his big eyes. That made Ryo's stomach twist itself in grief, but he held back the tears for J.J.'s sake. There was no point in having a bunch of blubbering idiots sitting around and annoying the workers here. It must be hard enough working in this ward anyway. he imagined that there had to be a lot of deaths here. "Everything is going to be all right," he said quietly. J.J. stared at him a moment, and looked as if he were trying to comprehend these words. His lip quivered, and he fell into Ryo's chest sobbing. Ryo did his best to comfort, but found that he ended up crying as well.  
  
So much for containing himself, thought Ryo.  
  
It seemed an eternity for someone to finally come out. He had changed into a clean outfit (one that wasn't covered in Dee's blood), and he was holding a clipboard in his hand. His eyes conveyed no emotion of what the news was. Ryo didn't notice the man; he had his face buried in his hands. He was wide- awake, but really didn't know what to make of the situation. J.J. had long since fallen asleep, and was curled up into a ball, his head resting on Ryo's lap.  
  
"Mr. McLean?"  
  
Ryo shot upright, and saw the man. He looked cold, and he couldn't tell what he was about to say just by looking at him. He seemed completely devoid of emotion, and that put him on edge.  
  
"That's. that's me." Ryo said, staring up with wide eyes at the man.  
  
He began to talk, but it all seemed to go in one ear and out the other. Of course, he made it all sound better than it really was, with flowery words and explanations of why it had happened, but the bottom line was that Dee was dead.  
  
Ryo fell back into his chair, and felt as if the life were being sucked out of him. Deep down, he knew that this would happen; he knew that Dee wouldn't survive. But he had prayed so hard that it wouldn't come to that.  
  
At first he didn't believe it. He thought that maybe if he were there, Dee wouldn't be dead? Maybe he could wake him up.  
  
Panic gripped him. And then he did something probably only Dee would have done. He bolted out of his chair and into the trauma room. There he saw Dee on the table, deathly white. The surgeons were just finishing stitching up his chest and cleaning up the blood, and talking to one another as if nothing happened in a competitive sort of manner, as if the man were nothing more than an animal meant for dissection. They didn't seem at all phased at the fact that there was a dead man lying on the table. They must have been used to it, he figured, but it angered him to see them taking this so lightly, taking something of such great importance, something that had made the last three years of his life better than any other. as if it were but a trifle.  
  
Ryo stood in shock, not sure what to do. He couldn't touch him. he'd hurt him, wouldn't he? He looked as delicate as a porcelain doll, and if there was any chance of "waking" him, he was afraid that he would shatter at anyone's or anything's touch.  
  
There were shouts from the lobby. Ryo spun around and heard a gunshot. He knew what it was: J.J. had sworn that if anything had happened to Dee that he would kill himself without hesitation. No one could do anything about it; it was too sudden and sporadic, just like him to do without a second thought as to how it would affect others. There was a thump of flesh to linoleum, a brief silence, and then panic.  
  
Selfish boy.  
  
Moments later, he saw a probably barely living, most likely dead, J.J. rushed by frantically on a stretcher. Blood was pooling under his head, staining the sterile white sheets. Everything, everyone was in panic. To Ryo, the walls seemed to be heaving, enclosing all around him. His world was falling apart, and there was nothing to do about it.  
  
He felt faint, and tumble backwards, back out the doors, the surgeons not even noticing his presence at all. After a couple more steps of a drunken fashion fumble, he felt a pair of somewhat small hands catch him, struggling to hold him up. The hands were only able to let his weight fall to the ground and keep him in a sitting position. Ryo let his head tipped back, and he saw Bikky, eyes wide with wonder and concern. Carol hovered over, not sure what to make of the situation. Had they come in when J.J. had shot himself? He had certainly hoped not. That would have been a horribly traumatic thing to see as a kid his age.  
  
He smiled half-heartedly, half bitterly, half. concerned, as his eyes welled up with tears of worry, frustration, sorry and anger that he had been holding ever since he got the news. He didn't know what the smile was for, but second after he drifted into an uneasy sleep right there on the lobby floor of the hospital, a sleep that seemed more like ill unconsciousness rather than sleep.  
  
To be Continued..  
  
~*~ So.. um.. whaddya all think? It was based off of another FAKE fanfic I found, that was wonderful. I just thought it would make a better, longer fic, and well, call me unoriginal, but I did it anyway. Please R&R!  
  
Oh, BTW, I did review her fic, and ask if I could use her basic story. but she never got back to me. If she has a problem with it, then I'll take it down.  
  
DISCLAIMER: FAKE does not belong to me. The characters, concept, and story do not belong to me, and I am merely borrowing them, for lack of inspiration to write anything original. ~*~ 


	2. Fly

~Don't let your life, pass you by..  
  
Weep not for the memory.  
  
I'm so tired, that I can't sleep  
  
Standing on the edge of something much too deep.  
  
It's funny how we feel so much  
  
And we cannot say the words,  
  
And the screaming inside of me..  
  
Can't be heard.  
  
I will remember you. -Sarah McLaughlin-~  
  
------------------------------  
  
Faces were hovering above him. They were small, almost childlike.  
  
Bikky.?  
  
They had apparently gotten the news, judging by the grim, dull, and overall emotionless expressions. He figured they would be crushed, and break down sobbing, like any other kid would do.  
  
Maybe they had already shed their tears.  
  
Ryo sat up, shakily, propping himself up on one hand, occupying the other with rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.  
  
He felt better now. still horribly depressed, but better. However, even in his unconscious state, he knew that he had to be strong. for Carol and Bikky, and for Dee's family. Ryo blinked a moment, realizing the sad fact that Dee didn't have a family. His real family had abandoned him so long ago.  
  
He choked up, but held back the tears; he had to be strong for them. He couldn't break down now, not now. He was the closest person to Dee, which meant he had to handle all the paperwork, the funeral arrangements, his final debts, moving and packing his stuff up.  
  
He held a hand over his mouth, and closed his eyes, still trying to steady his thoughts. He hoped he could deal with all of this soon.  
  
He tried to preoccupy his thoughts with some questions to himself. First off, where was he? He looked around the room slowly, and discovered that he was in his apartment. Good enough. He looked towards the corner that Carol and Bikky had retreated to.  
  
They were looking on apprehensively, as if making sure he wouldn't keel over and die too. After all, he was something like a guardian to them, and if he were gone, where would they go?  
  
He looked to them, and smiled, or rather, tried to muster up a somewhat rueful, twist of the lips that tried it's best to be a smile.  
  
"You guys going to be okay?"  
  
Bikky nodded, not speaking. He was staring down at his hands, fidgeting, and trying not to cry. Carol was obviously sad, but handling things better than Bikky was.  
  
He sighed, and leaned over to the side of his head to fetch his wallet, only to realize that he still had all of his clothing on, and hadn't fallen asleep last night or anything. In fact, it was still the same day. He found his wallet in the back pocket of his pants. Fishing through for a moment, he realized he a little more money than he thought. He pulled out a fifty, and handed it to Carol.  
  
"Go cheer up, okay, guys?"  
  
Carol and Bikky were not ones to refuse money. They both looked at each other, looked at the money. Carol smiled gleefully and thanked Ryo profusely, and Bikky had the evil Bikky gleam back in his eyes, but still wouldn't talk to Ryo. They left the room hastily, most likely going to gamble with some other kids on the street.  
  
He sighed in exasperation, but as long as it would make them happy.  
  
He tossed his legs over the corner of the bed, almost like a ragdoll, and looked around. Dee's clothing and some personal belongings were still scattered about, as if he were coming back. He held a shaken hand over his mouth, trembling. Carol and Bikky were gone, so why was he still holding back?  
  
"Because Dee wouldn't want me to cry. he'd laugh and say I was too sensitive." He replied quietly to himself.  
  
He imagined him saying it, and grinning with that charismatic grin of his. That gleam in his eyes, and his hair sloppily done, but somehow looking neat and kempt. The way he wore his shirt with two buttons almost always undone.  
  
It all came to him at once.  
  
He fell to the ground, feeling as if he could scream. He clutched a blue shirt of Dee's, and pulled it to his chest, heaving uncontrollably. He wanted to scream, and just. break something so badly.  
  
It wasn't fair that this had to happen. Why did it have to happen to Dee? Why not. him? He knew that Dee would be stronger than he. He was stronger. always so much stronger. And his recklessness that he had hated so much had helped so many times. He didn't deserve to die. and he even had to die at the hands of some money desperate idiot, who, by Dee's hand was dead as well. They had shot at the same time, and Dee's bullet had killed him instantly. It's not easy to survive a bullet to the head, after all.  
  
He curled up pathetically, like a child who had just lost a pet. He sobbed relentlessly, clutching Dee's tear stained, smelly shirt to his face.  
  
At least he got some time to let this badly needed stress out. He would need it later.  
  
------------------------------  
  
The funeral, in the least had been more like a solemn reception rather than a funeral. There was the classical black suits and dresses on the attendants (Ryo regretted calling it a funeral; he was in only one in casual dress), but the general mood had been uplifted at least a little. He had realized long ago that Dee wouldn't want a bunch of people getting depressed over his sake. But then again, he didn't feel that a wake was sufficient enough to remember him. Wakes usually were more like a party, and it just didn't feel right. Granted, it might have been easier for Bikky and Carol to deal with, but he just wouldn't have felt right.  
  
Some of Dee's favorite alcohols were served for the older, of age participants, and Chocolate milk specifically for the kids. Some of the children and. "Penguin" had showed up from the orphanage, so there had to be enough for them too.  
  
Over all, it wasn't as bad as Ryo thought it would be, but it was still too much like a funeral to keep him happy. But it wasn't himself that mattered. What mattered was honoring the dead, honoring someone that had made such impact in his life.  
  
But it was so hard not to think about himself.  
  
He sighed, and flopped into his desk chair, staring at a blank piece of paper and pencil sitting there. There were some travel brochures under it. they had been planning to go to another small hotel in the mountains, just for themselves. Not in England, of course. Neither of them were too keen on the idea of going back there. He pulled out one of them, which had a picture of the Rocky Mountains, in all of their blue brilliance, reflected in a small lake with blue spruce trees surrounding it. It looked so beautiful. but Dee didn't want to go there. He would have rather gone to a place like Hawaii. Mountains were never Dee's forte.  
  
He flipped through it. The cost was relatively cheap. much cheaper than going to Hawaii would have been, anyway. There was horseback riding, swimming, canoeing, and hiking. They were the sorts of things that Ryo loved. He could go to Hawaii for his vacation, in honor of Dee, but he could never afford it. Not alone, anyway.  
  
He needed a vacation soon.. He knew that. There was too much here that reminded him of Dee, and it all hurt him so much. It was too soon for him to deal with this pain.  
  
He did have a good excuse, after all. It was no secret at this point that they were something like lovers, and losing a lover is devastating. Especially when you lose a lover like that. He set the brochure down, and glanced dumbly at the phone, suddenly remembering J.J.  
  
Was he all right? He didn't much care.. he would have cared in the past, but now, nothing seemed to matter. He could at least call, and ask a nurse. He was almost confidant J.J. would not be up to speaking, if indeed he had survived. But there was no point in checking.  
  
He picked it up, pressed some numbers almost subconsciously, and waited for an answer at the other end of the line.  
  
"Yes. do you know what room Jemmy Jay. yes. that one. Can you connect me with his doctor? Thank you."  
  
There was a pause, and a slight clicking at the other end of the line. Then a voice came up, a young, yet husky voice.  
  
"Dr. Adams speaking." He said, with a definite tone of authority to his voice.  
  
"Yes.. um.. hello, my name is Randy McLean. can you tell my about your patient J.J.. Or rather, Jemmy? His nickname is J.J."  
  
"Yes. actually, he's all right." Said the doctor assuredly.  
  
Ryo felt his throat nearly jump out of his mouth, and crawl away from him in anger. Why the hell was J.J. okay, and Dee was dead?? He couldn't understand.  
  
"Oh, I see. how. how is that possible? He shot himself in the head." Ryo stuttered.  
  
"Sometimes.. when someone tries to kill themselves, especially when it was as frantic as J.J.'s attempt, they shoot through a part of the head, where only the, to put it dumbly, 'cords' of his eyes, so that only his vision is affected. Granted, he is still in intensive care, but there is no doubt that he will live. Nothing but his vision was damaged."  
  
"I see.. thank you." He said quickly, and hung up the phone in frustration. Why did someone who desired to die live, and someone who desired life die? He couldn't fathom it. He always knew that.. whoever was up there.. worked in mysterious ways, but he couldn't possibly comprehend why they chose Dee to go.  
  
He stood, carefully, and in a fit of frustration, threw his chair into the wall. It broke in two, and fell to the ground uneventfully. He fell to his knees screaming, pulling at his hair. Why did this happen?? Why?! He hadn't even been on the job! Why did this happen to him!? Why did he lose everything he loved?  
  
He sat on the floor, huddled like a caged animal, attempting to regain his composure. He prayed the no one had heard that. He was in an apartment building after all, and it was indeed possible that someone might contact the authorities. Ryo couldn't count how long he had sat there, shivering in rage, sorrow, frustration. but it didn't seem like long. He stood up shakily, supporting himself on his desk. He felt suddenly foolish for his little meltdown, and looked at the chair sheepishly, as if it were a stern mother, shaking her finger accusingly at her child. He slunk away from his room and the accusing chair, where there was nothing but the comfort of sweet darkness.  
  
He sat on the couch, and took a last check around, to make sure He had packed away everything that had belonged to Dee. There didn't seem to be anything that he had missed, so it seemed safe to sleep out here.  
  
He didn't think he could sleep in that room again, and wake up to find Dee's work clothes still scattered about, his toothbrush resting on the nightstand, the identification card that he had forgotten to take with him to the bank to cash his check.  
  
If only he had remembered that I.D., and gone back for it, this wouldn't have happened.  
  
Ryo shook that thought from his head, that ever-prominent thought of denial that people always had when they lost someone. The "What-ifs" and "If Only's". those things that never happened, and never could, because they hadn't, and it was too late now. He knew he just had to accept that fact. He curled up pathetically, still in his work clothes, and fluffed the small chenille throw pillow under his head.  
  
This time, he simply fell asleep, not into dreamless or restless sleep, but sleep in it's simplest form.  
  
------------------------------  
  
"You're going where?!?" Carol asked, holding a cup of coffee casually in her right hand.  
  
"To Colorado," he replied simply, waving the brochure in front of her. "It's only for two weeks, and I just need some time to, you know, recuperate, if you can call it that."  
  
Bikky frowned at him. "And you can't at least take us along?"  
  
"Bikky.I just need some time to myself. I promise, that next time.. you can come, all right? Fair enough?"  
  
The boy sighed. "Fine fine.. but that means." he said, with a wicked glint to his eyes, "I get free reign on your apartment, and I get to throw a party!!"  
  
"No parties." Ryo replied calmly yet sternly. "You can have the apartment for the next two weeks if you want, but no parties."  
  
He growled, and continued sipping on the soda that he seemed to think was breakfast.  
  
"Well, have a good time there then.. where again, were you going?"  
  
"Colorado," he repeated.  
  
"No, I mean where in Colorado?"  
  
"Aspen. There are some mountain resorts there, and I wanted to go to one of them. Don't worry, I'll bring you back something, if that's what you are getting at."  
  
Carol blushed and laughed slightly. "I don't really want anything from Colorado.. unless it's a dream catcher! I know that they sell those in souvenir shops a lot."  
  
"All right.. I'll get you both a dream catcher."  
  
"Tha-anks!" Carol sang. "But you don't need to worry about it."  
  
Ryo sighed. He could see right through these two. They were great kids, but very materialistic.  
  
"Well, I better go get packed." Ryo said and stood, pushing his chair away from the table.  
  
"Huh, when are you leaving?" Bikky asked, his attention averted from the carbonated sugar.  
  
"In three days." He said, and left it at that as he disappeared into the hallway. The two sat and looked at each other. There was something odd about this whole situation, and both of them knew it, but neither spoke it.  
  
Carol went back to drinking her coffee and nibbling on her scrambled eggs, and Bikky simply got up and got more soda.  
  
------------------------------  
  
"There's always some reason  
  
to not feel good enough,  
  
and it's hard at the end of the day.  
  
Need some distraction,  
  
Oh, beautiful release.  
  
Memories seep through my veins.  
  
***  
  
In the arms of the angel,  
  
Fly away from here."  
  
~Sarah Mclaughlin~  
  
------------------------------  
  
~Wow, this is going on longer than I expected. ^_^ I hope you all like it! And sorry for drawing it out so long, I just can't write short stories! Please wait for the next chapter!~ 


	3. Wake

Omigod.. I am so sorry, everyone, it took so long!!! But I'm devoted now. I have ideas for this one. and I want to get them out, dammit!!  
  
Anyway, sorry for the delay. I know how many of you wanted the rest of it. ^^ Please r&r!  
  
----------------------------------  
  
It was rather late into the night, when Bikky got up and decided to do some routine rummaging through Ryo's apartment. He tiptoed through the hallways in his pajamas, silently as possible, down to Ryo's room. He knew that Ryo wouldn't be sleeping in their tonight; he hadn't slept in there ever since after Dee died.  
  
The reason that he had decided to do some "routine rummaging", was because he and Carol decided that there was something fishy about this whole vacation situation. For starters, Ryo would have usually taken them without hesitation. They could understand that he would need some time to recuperate, but even under the circumstances, he probably would have taken them as well, knowing that they might be experiencing some trouble as well.  
  
Bikky pushed open the door to his room, which thanks to Ryo's meticulous house maintenance and, well. over "anal" attitude towards cleanliness, didn't make a sound.  
  
He relaxed now, and strode across the small room, which still had Dee's things scattered about.  
  
No wonder he wasn't sleeping in here. he probably couldn't get the strength to get rid of any of it, much less move it.  
  
On the desk was Ryo's travel brochure, tickets and. passport? Did you need a passport to go to Colorado? He picked up the small bundle of papers and thumbed through them, looking for the ticket. He found it between some receipts, and fished it out.  
  
He stood over the desk, flipped on Ryo's desk lamp, and hunched over the ticket to read the fine print, which, in this dim light and to his tired eyes, was blurred only slightly.  
  
"O-Osaka?" He muttered. He didn't know where Osaka was, but after a little more investigation, found that the city resided in Japan; Ryo's native country. In a sense, America was home to him as well, since he had American blood and was born in the states, but he probably considered Japan his homeland. (Even though he had probably never been there.) Not only that, the ticket was a one way ticket; No round trips for Ryo.  
  
He wrinkled his nose in confusion. Why would he tell them that he was going to Colorado, when the tickets said otherwise?  
  
He set them back down on the desk. He would talk to Carol about it tomorrow, and then to Ryo, if he wasn't too busy packing. He did leave the very next day, after all.  
  
He yawned, stretched, and wandered to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water before he went back to bed.  
  
----------------------------------  
  
"Japan??" Carol asked wide eyed.  
  
"Yeah, I went to his room last night, and found the plane tickets on his desk.."  
  
Carol shrugged. "So what does it matter to you?"  
  
"It matters to me because.. he might not be coming back."  
  
Carol smiled. "Now why would you think that?" She said, eyeing him like a child, which indeed he was, he just didn't like it when people treated him as such.  
  
"Think about it, Carol! Osaka is probably where his family lives."  
  
"O-sa-ka, you mean?"  
  
"Yeah, well anyway, that's probably where his family leaves, which means he probably won't be coming back."  
  
Carol's all-knowing smile faded, replaced by a look of slight worry.  
  
"Well. I. I wouldn't worry about it much, you know? I mean, he probably just changed his vacation plans, is all. He probably only wants to visit his family. Besides, he wouldn't do that. He has you to worry about."  
  
"I don't think he even cares at this point.." Bikky muttered under his breath.  
  
There was a loud honk outside, followed by some miscellaneous car beeps, which reminded the two that they were in a public café, two empty cups sitting on their table. They glanced at one another, thinking that they should probably be at school.  
  
Bikky stood, his hands on the table. "I'm gonna let you cover this. I gotta go, and I got no cash."  
  
"WHAT??"  
  
Before Carol could stand up, he was out the door, waving his thanks, and dashing down the street.  
  
She sighed, and fished through her pockets, leaving the total plus tip on the table.  
  
"You little Brat!!!" She screamed, and careened down the street after him.  
  
----------------------------------  
  
The airport shuttle had arrived a little earlier than usual, but that didn't bother Ryo. He had everything packed and ready to go. The driver helped him load up, and before he knew it, he was sitting in the passenger's side, silent, as the driver tried to make small talk with him, which was the last thing he wanted. His main response to the driver was to smile and nod.  
  
"So, where you headed?" He asked, his eyes darting from Ryo, to the road, and back again.  
  
"Osaka," he replied simply.  
  
"Oh really? That in. Korea or Japan, or something?"  
  
Ryo smiled. "Yes.. Japan. I- I'm going on vacation for awhile." He stammered, thinking about how he had lied to Bikky earlier that morning. No turning back now, though. He had already bought the tickets, and was more than halfway to the airport. Deep down, he felt a little bad for lying to his foundling, but it's not like he was going to disappear forever. Besides that, Carol's Aunt was more than happy to take the brat in for a while, and she said not to worry about hurrying back. Of course it would be rude not to come back at all; but he needed some time.. to think, maybe. He didn't know what he needed time for, but he needed it. He sighed, and leaned into his seat, noting the uncomfortable chafe of the seatbelt against his neck. Damn his shortness, he thought, as he peered at the driver, who was a little more than 6', but barely. Tall enough for the seatbelt to do its job, anyway.  
  
"Really? You got family there, or are you just traveling?"  
  
"Just traveling." He sighed. All of his family had come to the U.S. During World War II, and even before than, his Japanese bloodline had been long since washed out by Europeans in the country. When he came to the U.S. his family barely resembled anything Asian. (Thank god for them; he was thankful he didn't have grandparents that went on and on about the Death camps and such.) If he had any relatives left in Japan, he didn't know who or where they were.  
  
The driver eventually got the point, and asked if Ryo minded if he put his headphones on. Of course he didn't. He was soon left in peaceful, blissful silence; something he hadn't been granted with in awhile.  
  
Check-In, of course, was boring and tedious. Ryo seemed to be in another realm of reality the whole time though; feeling as if he were dreaming it all. So before he knew it, he was in the Security check. That was where Carol and Bikky were supposed to meet him to wish him a farewell, but he saw no sign of the two. They were probably a little late; they were coming from school, after all. One baby step at a time, he got closer and closer to the point where Carol and Bikky couldn't follow. Maybe they didn't want to say goodbye.. maybe Bikky was happy that he had basically been set free into the wild, ready to cause trouble and do as he pleased? He smiled. That wouldn't be at all unlike him, but on the other hand, he was a sweet kid, and might get upset if he missed Ryo.  
  
After the Security check, there was still no sign of the two. He sighed, and walked through, to an escalator which lead to areas where only paying passengers could be. He walked slow down the stairs, hoping maybe they were a little late.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by a rather out of place pounding; like fists on glass. He looked up to a large glass wall, and saw Bikky and Carol waving their arms around like Lunatics. He smiled, stopped and waved, blowing a sarcastic kiss. Bikky smiled, and pretended to shoot a gun at him. Ryo smiled, took a last glance at the two, and went down.  
  
"Bye, guys." he said quietly, still looking up as he went down, even though he couldn't see them.  
  
"Goodbye, Dee."  
  
----------------------------------  
  
Last Chance.  
  
Last chance for what?  
  
Did he know how you felt?  
  
Did he feel the same way?  
  
I don't want to say goodbye.  
  
Its cold here. I don't know what to do. I'm so scared. Was it a dream? It had to have been. It was a dream.. I know it was.  
  
God, It wasn't. I can hear them crying. I can hear Ryo.  
  
"Please wake up. Dee.. come back to me."  
  
He sounds so distant.  
  
Oh God, I'm trembling. I can't die like this. Not without telling you. Not without hearing you say you love me.  
  
If you do..  
  
----------------------------------  
  
"G. GAAAHAHA!!!"  
  
Dee bolted upright, panting uncontrollably. His skin felt icy cold, and he was drenched in freezing sweat.  
  
He clambered frantically at chest. and found no bullet hole. No wound, no blood.  
  
So it was just a dream. A freaky ass dream that seemed to real. Way too real, in fact. He laughed, thinking maybe it happened, and he was being another chance..  
  
That was ridiculous! He laughed at his naiveté, and felt the drowsiness overcome him again. He fell back into the warmth of Ryo's bed, and wanted to go back to bed, but found that he couldn't. Besides, he had to go run some errands. He grumbled, and flipped onto his side.  
  
"Come on big boy, it's all up to you now." He muttered to himself, as if it were an inspirational speech to get him moving. It failed to work, but it was worth a try.  
  
When he had finally gotten the will to open his heavy eyes, he slowly crawled out of bed into some clothing, which was either clean or dirty, he couldn't tell, and frankly, he didn't care. He tucked his blue shirt in, tried to zip up his pants and button them, (although this seemed to be rather difficult, considering his hands were so tired the seemed to be nothing but rectangular blocks of wood on his hands that kind of were supposed to be fingers) and then tried to button his shirt, but had realized that he had tucked it in quite sloppily before he could even button it.  
  
It had taken him nearly an hour to fully wake (or, get dressed, as the case may be), and get a somewhat decent meal into his stomach. He sat at the table, munching at some Cream of Oranges Instant Breakfast that Ryo had bought. The clock on the wall sat across from him, ticking away as if to remind him that he had not more than a couple of hours to do his errands and get to work. He glared at the clock. It seemed to glare back, but as it turned out, that was only the second hand at such and angle to make the clock look as if it were frowning at him. He sighed, and finished up his meal, carelessly tossing the pastel blue plastic bowl into the kitchen sink.  
  
He walked past the fridge, and checked to see if Ryo had left a shopping list. Shopping was one of the things Ryo had asked him to do, but he couldn't do it very well if he didn't know what Ryo wanted. There was indeed one, sticking to the fridge with the aid of some clever magnets that were made to look like tacks. On a flowery piece of stationary, was scribbled some demands in Ryo's delicate handwriting. It read:  
  
"MILK, BREAD, EGGS, CREAMER, GROUND TURKEY.  
  
TAKE TRASH OUT.  
  
SEE YOU AT WORK. ~RYO"  
  
He started to fold up the note, but then had a sense of déjà vu. Didn't this happen yesterday? No.  
  
He stopped dead in his tracks. This was exactly like that damned dream.  
  
He dropped the note, rather than shoving it into his pocket. He couldn't go to the bank. He.. He just had to get straight to work; save explanations for Ryo later, and think of a good excuse so the Chief wouldn't bug him about being early for once.  
  
He bit his lip, and grabbed his coat and wallet, running out to the car. He jumped in, and locked himself in. There was no way that his dream predicted anything. He was so far from any mystic crap that there was no way. He didn't even believe in that crap!  
  
He laughed, and shook his head. That's right. His dream didn't predict any damned future. He let a shaky hand lead his key to the ignition, and the car started with a comforting purr. Maybe he could go buy his movie? But he needed cash to do that. so that option was out.  
  
Just go to work, you know you don't want to, but you should. Just go.  
  
He sighed, slapped his inner voice, and sped off, anticipating the morning rush of traffic.  
  
----------------------------------  
  
"Dee!" Ryo smiled, when he walked past. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I.." He paused. "I didn't have anything else to do."  
  
"Wow. And you came to work early? Amazing." Ryo teased amiably.  
  
"Shut up, dude! I just was bored, okay?"  
  
Ryo stopped. "Really? Seems like there's more to it. You have a head of glass, Dee. What's wrong?"  
  
Dee paused, and flopped into a chair next to Ryo. "I. I had a bad dream." He waited for the small, polite cynical retort, but Ryo only sat, waiting for him to go on.  
  
"It was so real. I was so scared. I didn't know what to do. I heard you screaming at me to wake up. telling me not to leave you. I."  
  
He cleared his throat.  
  
"Anyway, I woke up and found your shopping list. But everything was like how it was in the dream. The note was the same, the food was the same. the clothing scattered on the floor. it just freaked the shit outta me."  
  
"Oh?" Ryo asked, and smiled. "It was just a dream. don't worry about it." He pat his shoulder, and turned his attention back to his paperwork.  
  
"Um.. Ry-Ryo?" He stammered. Ryo turned back around.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Dee froze up. He wanted to tell Ryo right now how he felt, and have Ryo tell him he loved him. But his courage stopped up, was stopped like water in a bottle by a cork.  
  
"N-nevermind. I gotta go catch up on some paperwork, okay?"  
  
"Right, right. See you tonight."  
  
"Right." Dee sighed, and stood, stalking off to his desk. There was A LOT of paperwork he had been putting off, including a few apologies to write and damage reports to read. First off, there was the issue of the Revolver vs. Automatic. The chief had taken away his automatics, because he fired more bullets than they had in stock, and was told he could only fire 6 shots a day. He had officially broken a record, and not necessarily a good one, considering the last cop who did that was in jail now for killing an entire group of civilians. Not necessarily the sanest nut in the bin.  
  
He sat, and pulled out a couple sheets to start his request for the return of the standard issue automatics, when Drake interrupted him with a grab on the shoulder. He yelped, and spun around, glaring apprehensively at him.  
  
"Dee, there's a hold up downtown. They need backup. C'mon man, we gotta go!" Dee stared at him run off, cursed and grabbed his jacket, running after him. Not once did the dream cross his mind; he thought that danger was out of the way. He had done good and changed fate by not cashing his check.  
  
----------------------------------  
  
~*~ I know.. you are all getting impatient to see what is going to happen. Well let me tell you something..  
  
SORE WA HIMITSU DESU!!  
  
I'll get the next chapter up sooner than I did with this one, I promise. ^^ ~*~ 


	4. Grace

~Spend all your time waitin',  
  
For that Second Chance.  
  
For a Break that would make it okay.~  
  
~Sarah McLaughlin~  
  
------------------------------  
  
It had been nearly two hours into the holdup. So far they knew, one person was dead, and everyone else was definitely in danger of being dead any time soon.  
  
The person inside that bank was definitely desperate; he was probably some poor guy from the slums, who saw no other option. It was either fly or die.  
  
Dee, personally, was getting quite tired of waiting. Whenever he felt that something was about to happen, things just got more boring. There was a small group of agents discussing going in and just shooting him down, but that would be dangerous to the people inside, and the people shooting.  
  
And of course, when he wasn't paying attention, without warning, the guy ran out with guns tucked in his belts.. probably from the guards who were in the bank, which most likely meant that there were more dead than they had thought. He started shooting and screaming nonsensically. The forces had no other choice but to take cover and shoot back.  
  
This of course, didn't last long. The guy was shot clean in the gut, and hit the ground hard. He tried to get up, but fell back to the pavement with a sickening thwap. Paramedic teams immediately rushed inside, and a group of police immediately ran towards the man they had just shot down. Only one paramedic had bothered to come and make sure that the assailant was still alive. Among those who had accompanied the lone paramedic was Dee. Ryo was busy dealing with press teams along with the chief.. of course. That guy was too perfect. Of course Berkely would choose him to help fend off the paparazzi! Damn pervert had a major crush on him. on HIS guy! He stared at them from a distance, abrasively and almost hatefully. He hated it when Ryo was even close to that ass..  
  
He had turned just in time to see that the guy was indeed.. sort of alive, and he had swept up his dropped gun that was about to be bagged for evidence, and aimed it at the easiest thing to aim at. The group around him immediately scattered, cursing to themselves, but he had seen it too late.  
  
The guy pulled the trigger without a second thought. Dee fell back from the force of the bullet, and the back of his head hit the pavement hard.  
  
He clamored into thin air, grasping for something.. anything.. he didn't know what. He suddenly felt panicked.. he couldn't breathe.. just like..  
  
Just like that damned dream. Only he felt.. different this time. The pain was blazing white hot in his chest, but it wasn't so distant this time. He felt like.. he felt like he might make it, unlike that damned dream.  
  
He saw a blonde beauty hovering over him, almost crying. Dee reached up weakly, and coughed up some blood. Ryo bit his lip to keep from crying.  
  
"H-hey.." he coughed, smiling. "Don't worry, I'll be okay," he smiled, and reached up, stroking his cheek. His hand wandered to the back of his neck, and he pulled him close to his lips.  
  
"I love you.. love you so fucking much.. I needed to let you know this time.." he smiled. The pain seemed numb now.. all that mattered was telling him what he hadn't been able to the last time.  
  
He realized now, that whatever had happened, wasn't a dream. It had actually happened. There was no way that he could have dreamed dying. Besides, didn't psychologists say that if you dreamed that sort of thing, you would die?  
  
This was his second chance. His second chance to tell Ryo not to worry, to tell him that he loved him..  
  
This was his second chance to live.  
  
"No way in fuckin' hell I'm gonna die, Ryo.. you know me.." he whispered through pained breaths. He saw another small group of paramedics appear above him, and he felt cold hands on him. Or was that cold air? Were they cutting his shirt open? Didn't matter, as long as he could live for Ryo.  
  
Everything seemed to move so fast this time, so fast he couldn't handle it. Before he knew it, he was on the ambulence, with a more than worried Ryo sitting next to him. There were still at least two meds crammed in the back, struggling to keep him alive. He, at this point, had several things sticking out of his arm, which he assumed were IV's, and had a facemask strapped securely around his head.  
  
And the next thing he knew.. he was surrounded by black again, but it wasn't the unnerving blankness of death that surrounded him.. it was the simple warm, dark blanket of a drug induced sleep.  
  
------------------------------  
  
"Hey! No fair!" Dee stared pathetically, as Carol devoured the last of his hospital pudding dessert. He couldn't move to fetch it back from her, so all he could do was sit and watch in dismay as it disappeared it's way down his throat.  
  
"Hah! You lose!"  
  
"I think taking advantage of the weak should be a crime!" Dee pouted, folding his arms over his chest.  
  
"You? Admitting you are weak? BREAKTHROUGH!" chimed Bikky, bouncing up and down by the bed like a drugged up chimpanzee.  
  
"You little..!!" Dee attempted to smack him from the isolation of the bed, but failed miserably. The chimpanzee was far too fast for him handle.  
  
"Ryo! Make them stop! This is inhuman!"  
  
Ryo giggled, and pulled a ten dollar bill from his jacket pocket.  
  
"Why don't you two go buy something from the cafeteria, hrm?" Ryo grinned, waving the bill back and forth in the air. Before he could blink, the bill was gone from his hand, and the two were shouting their thanks from down the hallway. Ryo smiled, with a nostalgic sigh, wishing he were a kid again. He looked to Dee, who was laying down, more than relieved.  
  
"Hey, give 'em a break. They are so happy you are alive, you know. It's just their way of showing it." Ryo said, with a sweet smile.  
  
"I know, I know." Dee sighed. "It can just be really overbearing, sometimes.. ya know?"  
  
He smiled and nodded. "At least you aren't 'raising' one of them, if you could call it that."  
  
Dee nodded in agreement. "I pity you, man."  
  
"At least I can move."  
  
"Are you going to start teasing me to?"  
  
"I'm sorry, I won't do it anymore." Ryo giggled, as if completely innocent of his crime.  
  
"Hmph." Dee sighed, and slumped deeper into his sickeningly sterile hospital sheets. There was a short awkward silence, which was almost welcome. The shrieking antics of Bikky and Carol had given them both a headache. But Ryo felt he needed to say something.  
  
Ryo smiled, looking down at his hands.  
  
"Dee..?"  
  
"Hm? Yeah?" he replied sleepily.  
  
"I just wanted to let you know.. how.. how thankful.. no, how happy I am that you are alive right now.. I never even fathomed what I would do without you. I don't know what I would do.. how I would go on.. I couldn't even go to work without you. I'd have to quit.."  
  
"I just though I needed to say something. You are.. you are so.. well, special to me. You can be crass, and well, really excessively horny at times, but I don't care about any of that. It adds to who you are.. it adds to your person."  
  
Ryo remained silent for a minute, waiting for a reply.  
  
"Dee?"  
  
He stood, and poked the cop's arm. Dee mumbled for a minute, and fell over onto the bed, dead alseep.  
  
Ryo sighed, and positioned Dee onto the bed properly, covering him up, and giving a quick peck to his forehead, hoping no one would notice. He smiled sadly, and fell back into his chair by Dee's bedside.  
  
It seemed every time something meaningful was about to happen between the two, something always ended up interrupting them, and that interruption usually involved a certain pre-teen boy, and an almost teenaged girl. In this case, it was Dee's unbalanced sleeping habits. It made for an odd relationship between the two, but Ryo almost liked things that way. It just seemed right for them to live like that. So he could accept it.. for now.  
  
"Oh Dee.. I don't know if I'm going to be able to conjure the courage to tell you that again," he said to the sleeping form, and no one in particular.  
  
He stood, and brushed a stray black lock from Dee's eyes, and turned to leave. It wasn't wise to leave Bikky and Carol alone in a cafeteria, for he saw messy disasters in the near future.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------  
  
~Your Love, is better than Ice Cream,  
  
Better than anything else that I've tried!  
  
Your love.. is better than Chocolate,  
  
Everyone here knows how to cry!  
  
~Sarah McLaughlin~  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------  
  
The End!  
  
~*~Okay, maybe it was a cop-out (no pun intended), but I needed to end this somehow, and I wasn't sure. Also, I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but if I were to add it to the other chapter, I feel that it would have been too long, and not really had the same effect. I don't know if I'll write anymore FAKE fics in the near future.. I really don't have the inspiration to, because I have been on a GIANT Slayers (Gaav and Rezo, in particular) kick. So, if I am writing fanfics, it's more often than not concentrated on my Slayers ones. But thanks for reading! Maybe I'll write more sometime in the near future!~*~  
  
NOTE ABOUT J.J.: He is no longer injured, since the past kind of hit rewind, back to the point where Dee's future was preventable. So, he is no longer hurt. If any of you have ever seen the Devil's Advocate (which I STRONGLY recommend, except for the really icky sex scene involving Keannu Reeves.. unless some of you out there think pointless ass shots that are not good ones at that, are hot.) you would understand the whole reset to the past thing.  
  
Disclaimer: FAKE and all other related insignia are Copy write( to Sanami Matoh. All relations to persons dead, alive or fictional are intended, and in no way are meant to earn profit for my pocket (heh heh, rhymes..) or meant to do any damage whatsoever. So no suing! (Yeah, same goes for you, stupid Anne Rice! Ppffftt! 


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